Better After

14 In tables/dressers

Going Once, Going Twice

Meg set out to redo this old dresser for a school auction. That sounds like a groovy cool fundraising idea! I wish our schools here would get on board with that kind of thing. I don’t think I can buy another tub of overpriced cookie dough or a card of “Buy one 6″ sub, get one free at Subway (with medium drink)” stickers without punching myself in the face. Maybe that’s an overreaction. But I don’t even like Subway. Do you? You can’t go inside a Subway without smelling like it all day.

ANYWAY… Meg’s dresser. It’s rad. I’d bid on it! See more on her blog Never a Dull Day.

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March 20, 2012 By Lindsey @ Better After

3 In other rooms

Muddy Buddies

It kind of looks like Breanna’s mudroom just popped up in this empty space overnight! The curtain barely moved! I wish some mudroom elves would come build one for me too. Or they could clean my garage. Or rub my feet. I’m not picky. I WOULD be picky about who could track mud in this so-called ‘mudroom’ however. NO ONE.

Check out more on her blog The Cottage Gray.

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March 19, 2012 By Lindsey @ Better After

12 In kiddie

Wall-Smart

Hello there! And how was your weekend? Mine was good, I played dodgeball of all things, and I’m so sore! I guess I haven’t used my dodgeball muscles in a while. Or ever. Anyway, a couple things: First! Sara from The Tang Way recently interviewed little ol’ me, and you can read all about it right HERE! And Second! Here comes some better after goodness, hot and fresh from the oven for you:

Nancy wanted to add something unique to her son’s bedroom, so she nailed some old boards on the wall! I’m not making it sound as cool as it really is. She deconstructed some pallets, whitewashed them and topped them with a display shelf for a focal wall that will grow with him! Today a focal wall, tomorrow a headboard, and I’m sure the kid will try to use it as a climbing wall at some point in the future. Pretty darn clever. Read the whole story on her blog Owen’s Olivia.

March 19, 2012 By Lindsey @ Better After

233 In Uncategorized

Embroidery Hoop Orbs

I first saw these spheres on Pinterest from Hill Country Homebody and loved them. I got so excited when I learned they were made with nothing more than embroidery hoops, thumbtacks and stain, because I HAVE all those things! Let’s do this!

So easy. Take two hoops of the same size. Take them apart, so you have a total of four hoops. Stain. (I used Kona by Rustoleum first, then Sunbleached over that to lighten it up. These are my faaaaaaaavorite stain colors.)

I liked how the bits of hardware from the hoops gave it an industrial feel, and I rubbed the stain all over them for an aged look too.

Ok, now you just put the hoops back together, and keep in place with the thumbtacks! The wood is light enough to pin through, you don’t need any glue or nothin’! You can stain over the thumbtacks too.

March 16, 2012 By Lindsey @ Better After

13 In chairs/ottomans/seating

Going Green

St. Patrick’s day is a holiday I don’t quite know what to do with, because I am not Irish, nor do I drink, nor do I feel like spending an hour and a half making rainbow colored pancakes like all those super-moms on Pinterest. But I can wear green, if I happen to remember! And I can also share some green makeovers with you today! Huzzah! (Is that an Irish phrase? Not sure. They always say it at the Renaissance Festival though, so … close enough?) Blarney! I don’t know.

So, please enjoy this great chair makeover from Robin at Madison Modern Home.

Holy Shamrocks! A leprechaun!

Kelly AKA The Ridiculous Redhead knew this dresser could be cute. She just didn’t know there were eight layers of paint lurking under there, including one layer so permanently adhered she wondered if NASA had gone through a dresser-painting phase in their past. But she sand-blasted through it and has this Celtic-inspired dresser to show for it. (Celtic is the same as Irish, right? Or somewhere in the neighborhood, at least?)

And another chair goes green from Antonia at Voodoo Molly. Great job here! Something tells me it wasn’t always meant to have that strangely tall cushion in the back.

But sometimes green is a bad thing. Sometimes you need to de-green. Antonia to the rescue again!

She modernized this matronly sofa, and again, it looks like it was always meant to be white and streamlined. She’s got the knack! Paddy whack! See, I’m totally Irishy. See more on her blog HERE.

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March 16, 2012 By Lindsey @ Better After

6 In kitchen/dining

Hold the mustard and the pickles!

When Katie moved into her home, the dining room was sporting a mustard-colored paint job and a hunter green carpet inlay. How unappetizing! I can hardly think of a worse color combination. I can’t! I actually just sat here at the computer and tried for a few minutes, and couldn’t come up with anything grosser. But the power of paint worked its magic, and with a fresh carpet inlay and some shadowboxes under the moulding, this room is now a main course! See all the details up close on Katie’s blog Amazing Grays.